Astronomy:317 Roxane

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317 Roxane
Lightcurve-base 3D-model of 317 Roxane.
Discovery[1]
Discovered byAuguste Charlois
Discovery date11 September 1891
Designations
(317) Roxane
Pronunciationfr
Named afterRoxana
A891 RD[2][lower-alpha 1]
Minor planet categoryMain belt
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc124.03 yr (45302 d)
|{{{apsis}}}|helion}}2.4832 astronomical unit|AU (371.48 Gm)
|{{{apsis}}}|helion}}2.0901 AU (312.67 Gm)
2.2866 AU (342.07 Gm)
Eccentricity0.085956
Orbital period3.46 yr (1263.0 d)
Mean anomaly39.3360°
Mean motion0° 17m 6.18s / day
Inclination1.7657°
Longitude of ascending node151.38°
186.926°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions18.67±1.4 km
Rotation period8.169 h (0.3404 d)
Geometric albedo0.4928±0.083
E
Absolute magnitude (H)10.03


317 Roxane is an asteroid from the asteroid belt approximately 19 km in diameter. It was discovered by Auguste Charlois from Nice on 11 September 1891. The name was chosen by F. Bidschof, an assistant at the Vienna Observatory, at Charlois' request; Bidschof chose to name it after Roxana, the wife of Alexander the Great, and at first used the spelling "Roxana".[3][4][5]

In 2008, a team identified Roxane as the closest known spectroscopic match for the Peña Blanca Spring meteorite that landed in a swimming pool in Texas in 1946. There is a possibility, therefore, that 317 Roxane is from the same parent object as this meteorite.[6]

Satellite

In 2009, a team using the Gemini North adaptive optics telescope discovered a moon orbiting Roxane. The moon is named Olympias, after the mother of Alexander the Great who was the king of Macedonia and husband of Roxana. Prior to its naming, the moon was provisionally named S/2009 (317) 1.[7] It measures 5 km in diameter and orbits 245 km from Roxane, completing one orbit every 13 days.[8]

See also

Notes

  1. The MPC notates Roxane's retroactive new-style designation as 1891 RD.[1]

References